The Runaway Maid is Loved by the Archmage - Chapter 285

※ This book contains depictions of coercive/dubcon/noncon acts, violence, and immorality. Reader discretion is advised.

Roina felt sorry for Jason, and she considered whether she should stop pushing him away at this point.

Was she giving him false hope by doing this? But he had followed her knowing everything, and he was also her contractor. Even though he was particularly passionate, she had continued to reject him, but as long as the contract period lasted, she had to be with him, whether she liked it or not.

In fact, delaying the meeting with Lutan from the past a little wasn’t a big deal.

Having thought that far, Roina sighed lightly and said,

“I understand why Jason is worried. I’ll go with you until you take the child.”

At that, Jason’s face brightened, but the child bit his lip and looked sorrowful.

“Is it because of me?”

“Huh?”

“You were so conflicted because of me, weren’t you? I know everything.”

While she was wondering how to respond to his precocious words, the child suddenly dashed off. With that same terrified look, he was just closing his eyes and running as fast as he could. Jason and Roina were flustered and tried to catch him, but perhaps because he was a beast person even though he was young, the child’s full-speed sprint was quite fast.

“Wait, kid, that way is…!”

“He’s gone.”

The two looked at the forest with bewildered faces. The direction the child had run at full speed was none other than the direction where the Golden Dragon’s malice was intensifying. In other words, he had run straight towards the Golden Dragon he had been so afraid of earlier.

“Hurry, follow him, Jason.”

“Okay.”

He said, “Excuse me for a moment,” and then slipped his hand behind Roina’s knees and supported her back with his other hand, lifting her up. She was flustered at the sudden touch, but without saying anything, she nestled into his arms.

‘It’s true that this is more efficient than chasing him with magic…’

There was a way to fly quickly by floating her body with wind, but this place was a forest densely packed with trees. Unless she went up into the sky above the trees to run, it wasn’t a very efficient method, and if she went up above the trees, it would be difficult to find the child and Jason. Her mana sensing required proximity and time for concentration to be precise.

Roina quietly leaned her head against Jason’s firm chest. Then she felt his tense muscles contract.

“I, I’m going!”

Jason’s rapid heartbeat could be felt in her ear, and his body temperature was hot. Looking up at his face, she could see that he was red up to his ears. Could he be this happy over something like this? Roina thought anew.

What followed was instantaneous. Jason quickly ran into the forest, tracking the child’s location with his keen hearing and sense of smell. In the distance, the child’s back, still running at full speed, could be seen.

“…You really found him quickly.”

“This is a piece of cake for me!”

Jason, who had shouted confidently, suddenly hardened his expression.

“Huh?”

“Ah.”

The child, Jason, and Roina. The three of them suddenly stopped dead in their tracks. The child was trembling all over like an aspen leaf, and Jason seemed to be frozen, unable to move.

Roina could tell, as she was feeling the same thing right now.

‘It’s Lutan’s energy.’

An energy of sharp blue light, filled with malice. Lutan’s energy was felt right nearby.

“I thought I told you not to make my abode noisy again.”

That low, deep voice came from right near them. He was pressuring them from an unseen place, like a wild beast hidden in the shadows of the forest. The child, who had been trembling, finally lost strength in his legs and collapsed to the ground.

“I don’t know how far human impudence goes.”

In an instant, the man who revealed himself was wrapped in a black hood, and had short black hair and a cold expression, unlike Roina’s memory, but she knew for sure. It was Lutan. Roina’s heart began to pound fiercely, like a sharp pain. Everything in her reacted to the mere appearance of Lutan, speaking and moving before her eyes.

However, Lutan was simply indifferent. He coldly scanned the area where Roina and Jason were, then raised his hand. It was a clear motion to harm the child. At that, Roina pushed Jason away and stepped forward, shouting.

“Lutan…!”